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Alabama woman works to help returning citizens rebuild their lives; Marist polls: Harris leads Trump in Michigan, Wisconsin; they're tied in Pennsylvania; UAW contract negotiations at VW focus on healthcare, safety, wages; NC dentists warn of crisis due to low Medicaid reimbursement rates.

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The Teamsters choose not to endorse a presidential candidate, county officials in Texas fight back against state moves to limit voter registration efforts, and the FBI investigate suspicious packages sent to elections offices in at least 17 states.

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A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

World Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day: "Wear Purple for a Purpose"

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Thursday, November 13, 2014   

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinoisans and others around the world are encouraged to don purple today to mark the first World Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day.

Kelli Steckbauer, a volunteer with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network in Greater Chicago, says this is one of the most deadly types of cancer, but efforts to build awareness have been slow over the years.

"People like Patrick Swayze and Steve Jobs, you know – these are big names throughout the globe of people that have actually passed away from this disease, and we still have a hard time getting that attention," she says.

Steckbauer adds the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is only 6 percent. She says this year, more than 46,000 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the United States, and for 39,000, it will be fatal within the year.

Symptoms of pancreatic cancer can include back pain, jaundice and unexplained weight loss.

Steckbauer points out the disease spreads quickly and is rarely diagnosed in its first stages.

"It's so hard to actually diagnose early on, because of where the pancreas is located, that when people get diagnosed they're in Stage 3, they're in Stage 4, and they're given only a few months to live, which is very unfortunate," she says.

Steckbauer says the goals are to educate people about pancreatic cancer and raise money for research.

"Not only the research and helping give grants to the researchers out there, and the doctors that are doing this work, but it helps this network keep going, which is providing so much support for the patients that are out there," she stresses.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States, and is predicted to become the second by 2020.




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